Information processing apparatus and method therefor

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus includes a first management unit configured to manage identification information of a plurality of image forming apparatuses as management targets and an order of processing on the image forming apparatuses while associating the identification information with the order, a request unit configured to request, according to the order, device information from an image forming apparatus having identification information corresponding to the order, a removing unit configured to remove, if a power state of the image forming apparatus is a power saving state when the request unit requests the device information from the image forming apparatus, the identification information of the image forming apparatus from a management target by the first management unit, and a second management unit configured to manage the removed identification information together with timing information for specifying timing for returning the removed identification information as the management target by the first management unit.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Disclosure

Aspects of the present invention generally relate to a technique formanaging an image forming apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, a management apparatus for acquiring and managingoperational information of an image forming apparatus such as a printeror a copying machine has been known. It is known that the image formingapparatus is provided with a function for storing a print job of a useras a log, and a function for notifying the user of a power state.Further, due to an increased need for power saving, it is also knownthat the image forming apparatus is provided with a function forentering a power saving state (a sleep state) when the image formingapparatus is not used for a certain period of time.

In addition, the number of the image forming apparatuses that can bemanaged by a single management apparatus is also requested to beincreased.

While the number of the image forming apparatuses that can be managed bya single management apparatus is requested to be increased, improvementin processing efficiency of the image forming apparatus is one of theimportant issues.

However, with the technique discussed in Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 2008-171323, when information such as a counter or a joblog is acquired from the image forming apparatus being in a sleep state,processing thereof needs to be held until the image forming apparatusshifts to a normal state from the sleep state, and thus it isproblematic in that processing efficiency cannot be improved.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present invention, an informationprocessing apparatus comprises a memory and a processor in communicationwith the memory, the processor configured to control a first managementunit configured to manage identification information of a plurality ofimage forming apparatuses as management targets and an order ofprocessing on the plurality of image forming apparatuses whileassociating the identification information with the order, a requestunit configured to request, according to the order managed by the firstmanagement unit, device information from an image forming apparatushaving identification information corresponding to the order, a removingunit configured to remove, in a case where a power state of the imageforming apparatus is a power saving state when the request unit requeststhe device information from the image forming apparatus, theidentification information of the image forming apparatus from amanagement target by the first management unit so as to prevent therequest unit from requesting the device information, and a secondmanagement unit configured to manage the removed identificationinformation of the image forming apparatus together with timinginformation for specifying timing for returning the removedidentification information as the management target by the firstmanagement unit.

Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configurationaccording to a first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configurationof a management apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software configurationof the management apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of themanagement apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a task according to thefirst exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of themanagement apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wake-up notificationmanagement store according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a power state storeaccording to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a timed task storeaccording to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of themanagement apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a queue storage timingstore according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of themanagement apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of themanagement apparatus according to the second exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of themanagement apparatus according to a third exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of themanagement apparatus according to the third exemplary embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Various exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the inventionwill be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configurationaccording to the present exemplary embodiment.

The system according to the present exemplary embodiment includes animage forming apparatus 100 such as a printer or a copying machine, amanagement apparatus 101 for managing an operational state of the imageforming apparatus 100, and a central management apparatus 102 whichincludes a server function for managing the information sent from themanagement apparatus 101.

FIG. 1 illustrates a state in which a plurality of the image formingapparatuses 100 and the management apparatus 101 are connected via alocal area network (LAN) 103. Further, FIG. 1 illustrates a state inwhich the management apparatus 101 and the central management apparatus102 are connected via an Internet 104. However, the system may beconfigured in such a manner that the management apparatus 101 isdisposed on an external network via the Internet 104, so that the imageforming apparatus 100 and the management apparatus 101 are connected viathe Internet 104. Furthermore, the management apparatus 101 and thecentral management apparatus 102 may be configured to be connected on anintranet via the LAN 103. In addition, the central management apparatus102 may be configured to be connected to a plurality of the managementapparatuses 101.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configurationof the management apparatus 101. The management apparatus 101 is anexample of the information processing apparatus.

The management apparatus 101 includes a communication interface (I/F)unit 201, a storage device 202, a central processing unit (CPU) 203, amemory 204, and an output interface (I/F) unit 205.

The CPU 203 executes processing based on a program stored in the storagedevice 202, so as to realize functions of the management apparatus 101(functions of software) and processing according to flowcharts, each ofwhich will be described below.

The communication I/F 201 serves as a network interface connected to theLAN 103. The communication I/F unit 201 sends various requests to theimage forming apparatus 100, and acquires operational information of theimage forming apparatus 100.

An operating system (OS), a program for acquiring and managing loginformation of the management-target image forming apparatus 100(hereinafter, simply referred to as “image forming apparatus 100”), anddata such as a power state of the image forming apparatus 100 are storedin the storage device 202.

The CPU 203 loads the program into the memory 204 from the storagedevice 202 and executes the program to perform various kinds of controlprocessing.

The output I/F unit 205 is connected to an output device such as adisplay unit and outputs an execution result of the program to theoutput device.

In the software configuration of the management apparatus 101, FIG. 3illustrates an example of a software configuration of a portionparticularly relating to the present system.

A device list acquisition unit 301 acquires a device list, on which alist of information of the image forming apparatus 100 is described,from the central management apparatus 102 via the communication I/F unit201, and stores the device list in the storage device 202. The list ofinformation includes a model name and model information of the imageforming apparatus 100.

Based on the device list stored in the storage device 202, a taskmanagement unit 302 individually generates, for each of the imageforming apparatuses 100, a task in which identification information(including a model name and model information) for identifying the imageforming apparatus 100 and a processing content are described.

A task storage unit 303 stores the task individually generated by thetask management unit 302 for each image forming apparatus 100 in a queuewithin the storage device 202. The task storage unit 303 associatesinformation about the timing of storing the task in the queue(hereinafter, simply referred to as “timing”) with the task, and storesthe timing with the task in a timed task store within the storage device202. When the specified timing is reached, the task storage unit 303stores the task in the queue. Further, the task storage unit 303acquires the task stored in the queue. The task storage unit 303associates the task with the processing order (number) of the task andstores the task with the order in the queue, so as to acquire the taskfrom the earlier order (smaller number). The timed task store will bedescribed below with reference to FIG. 9.

The power state management unit 304 associates a power statenotification received from the image forming apparatus 100 with theidentification information of the image forming apparatus 100, storesthe notification with the information in a power state store within thestorage device 202, and manages the power state.

A power state inquiry unit 305 acquires the power state notification ofthe image forming apparatus 100 managed by the storage device 202 todetermine the power state thereof.

In a case where the image forming apparatus 100 is in a sleep state whenthe power state notification of the image forming apparatus 100 isacquired by the power state inquiry unit 305, a wake-up notificationunit 306 sends a wake-up notification to the image forming apparatus100.

An acquisition unit 307 analyzes the task acquired by the task storageunit 303, acquires the device information (hereinafter, simply referredto as “information”) including log information and a counter value heldby the image forming apparatus 100, and stores the acquired informationin the storage device 202. In the present exemplary embodiment, theacquisition unit 307 acquires a job log, as an example. However, insteadof acquiring the job log, the acquisition unit 307 may acquire counterinformation or other information. Further, the function of theacquisition unit 307 may be realized by causing the CPU 203 to execute aplurality of threads simultaneously. By executing a plurality of threadssimultaneously, the CPU 203 can perform processing of analyzing the taskand acquiring the job log from the image forming apparatus 100 inparallel for the number of threads, so as to realize efficientprocessing. However, an upper limit is provided on the number of threadsbecause the number of threads depends on specifications of themanagement apparatus 101. Specifically, the CPU 203 determines the upperlimit of the number of threads according to the capacity of the memory204 for loading and executing the program. The specific processing willbe described below with reference to FIG. 6, FIG. 10, and FIG. 15.

A timing inquiry unit 308 makes an inquiry to a queue storage timingstore stored in the storage device 202. The queue storage timing storewill be described below in detail with reference to FIG. 11.

With reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 4, Job logacquisition processing executed by the CPU 203 of the managementapparatus 101 according to the present exemplary embodiment will bedescribed.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in which theCPU 203 of the management apparatus 101 according to the presentexemplary embodiment stores the task in the queue.

In step S401, the CPU 203 executes initialization processing necessaryto operate various programs, and the processing proceeds to step S402.This initialization processing includes initialization of communicationprocessing between the management apparatus 101 and the image formingapparatus 100, initialization of system setting, and initialization of avariable.

In step S402, the CPU 203 determines whether the central managementapparatus 102 reaches device list acquisition timing. If the centralmanagement apparatus 102 reaches the device list acquisition timing (YESin step S402), the processing proceeds to step S403.

In step S403, the CPU 203 accesses the central management apparatus 102via the communication I/F unit 201 to acquire a device list as amanagement target. Then, the processing proceeds to step S404.

On the other hand, in step S402, if the CPU 203 determines that thecentral management apparatus 102 does not reach the device listacquisition timing (NO in step S402), the processing proceeds to stepS406.

In step S404, the CPU 203 determines whether the device list has beenacquired. If the CPU 203 determines that the device list has beenacquired (YES in step S404), the processing proceeds to step S405.

In step S405, the CPU 203 stores the device list in the storage device202, and the processing proceeds to step S406.

On the other hand, in step S404, if the CPU 203 determines that thedevice list has not been acquired (NO in step S404), the processingproceeds to step S403.

In step S406, the CPU 203 determines whether the image forming apparatus100 reaches job log acquisition timing. If the CPU 203 determines thatthe image forming apparatus 100 reaches the job log acquisition timing(YES in step S406), the processing proceeds to step S407. In step S407,based on the device list stored in the storage device 202, the CPU 203generates a task in which the identification information and theprocessing content of the image forming apparatus 100 are described foreach image forming apparatus 100. Then, the processing proceeds to stepS408.

On the other hand, in step S406, if the CPU 203 determines that theimage forming apparatus 100 does not reach the job log acquisitiontiming (NO in step S406), the processing proceeds to step S402.

In step S408, the CPU 203 stores the task generated in step S407 in thequeue within the storage device 202, and the processing proceeds to stepS402. The above-described storage processing is an example of a firstmanagement processing.

The task will be described with reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the task.

The task includes device identification information and processingcontent information.

The device identification information may include any information suchas an IP address, a device ID, or a device model which can uniquelyidentify the image forming apparatus 100. The processing contentincludes information of acquiring a job log or counter information.

Hereinafter, with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 6, job logacquisition processing executed by the CPU 203 of the managementapparatus 101 according to the present exemplary embodiment will bedescribed.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in which theCPU 203 of the management apparatus 101 according to the presentexemplary embodiment acquires the task from the queue to acquire the joblog from the image forming apparatus 100.

In step S601, the CPU 203 determines whether the task is stored in thequeue. If the CPU 203 determines that the task is stored in the queue(YES in step S601), the processing proceeds to step S602.

On the other hand, in step S601, if the CPU 203 determines that the taskis not stored in the queue (NO in step S601), the CPU 203 repeats thesame processing.

In step S602, the CPU 203 acquires the task from the queue, and theprocessing proceeds to step S603. In step S603, the CPU 203 determineswhether a wake-up notification has been sent to the image formingapparatus 100 in advance. If the CPU 203 determines that the wake-upnotification has been sent (YES in step S603), the processing proceedsto step S604. In the present exemplary embodiment, as an example of amethod for determining whether the wake-up notification has been sent bythe CPU 203, a managing method using a flag is used. The flag accordingto the present exemplary embodiment is binary variables such as “ON/OFF”(1/0) expressed by the CPU 203. In the present exemplary embodiment, theflag is “ON” if the CPU 203 has sent the wake-up notification, and theflag is “OFF” if the CPU 203 has not sent the wake-up notification.Further, the CPU 203 manages a wake-up notification state of the imageforming apparatus 100 at a wake-up notification management store withinthe storage device 202, which will be described below with reference toFIG. 7. In other words, in step S603, the CPU 203 determines whether awake-up flag is ON.

The wake-up notification management store will be described withreference to FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the wake-up notificationmanagement store.

The wake-up notification management store includes device identificationinformation and information about the wake-up notification flag.

The device identification information may include any information suchas an IP address, a device ID, or a device model, which can uniquelyidentify the image forming apparatus 100. Further, the information aboutthe wake-up notification flag may include any information that caninform whether the wake-up notification has been sent.

In step S604, the CPU 203 turns “OFF” the wake-up notification flag ofthe image forming apparatus 100.

On the other hand, in step S603, if the CPU 203 determines that thewake-up notification has not been sent, in other words, if the CPU 203determines that the wake-up flag is not “ON” (NO in step S603), theprocessing proceeds to step S605.

In step S605, the CPU 203 makes an inquiry about the power state of theimage forming apparatus 100 to a power state store within the storagedevice 202, which will be described below with reference to FIG. 8, andthe processing proceeds to step S606.

The power state store will be described with reference to FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the power state store.

The power state store includes device identification information andpower state information.

The device identification information may include any information suchas an IP address, a device ID, or a device model, which uniquelyidentifies the image forming apparatus 100. Further, the power stateinformation is information such as “sleep”, “power ON”, and “power OFF”.

In step S606, the CPU 203 determines whether the power state of theimage forming apparatus 100 managed by the power state store is “powerON”. If the CPU 203 determines that the power state is “power ON” (YESin step S608), the processing proceeds to step S607.

In step S607, the CPU 203 acquires a job log from the image formingapparatus 100, and the processing proceeds to step S608.

In step S608, the CPU 203 determines whether the job log has beenacquired. If the CPU 203 determines that the job log has been acquired(YES in step S608), the processing proceeds to step S609.

In step S609, the CPU 203 stores the job log acquired from the imageforming apparatus 100 in the storage device 202, and the processingproceeds to step S601.

In addition, the CPU 203 may execute the processing performed in stepsS607 through S609 in parallel by a plurality of threads.

On the other hand, in step S608, if the CPU 203 determines that the joblog has not been acquired (NO in step S608), the processing proceeds tostep S601.

Further, in step S606, if the CPU 203 determines that the power state isnot “power ON” (NO in step S606), the processing proceeds to step S610.

In step S610, the CPU 203 determines whether the power state of theimage forming apparatus 100 managed by the power state store is “sleep”.If the CPU 203 determines that the power state is “sleep” (YES in stepS610), the processing proceeds to step S611. On the other hand, in stepS610, if the CPU 203 determines that the power state is not “sleep” (NOin step S610), the processing proceeds to step S601.

In step S611, the CPU 203 sends a wake-up notification to the imageforming apparatus 100, and the processing proceeds to step S612.

In step S612, the CPU 203 turns “ON” the wake-up flag of the imageforming apparatus 100. Then, the processing proceeds to step S613.

In step S613, the CPU 203 stores information about the task acquiredfrom the queue in step S602 and information about the timing of storingthe task in the queue in a timed task store within the storage device202, which will be described below with reference to FIG. 9. Then, theprocessing proceeds to step S601. The timing of storing (returning) thetask in the queue is the timing in which the time taken for the imageforming apparatus 100 to shift from the sleep state to the normal stateis taken into consideration, which enables the CPU 203 to executeinformation acquisition processing when the image forming apparatus 100is in the normal state. In the present exemplary embodiment, the CPU 203specifies predetermined timing. However, the timing is not limitedthereto. In addition, the above-described processing executed by the CPU203 of removing the task from the queue temporarily and storing theremoved task in the timed task store is an example of a secondmanagement processing.

The timed task store will be described with reference to FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the timed task store.

The timed task store includes information about the timing of storing(returning) the task in the queue and information about the task.

The information about the timing of storing the task in the queue mayinclude information about a specified date and time, or information forthe CPU 203 to count down and manage a preset counter value (forexample, the number of seconds).

Further, in step S613 of the flowchart in FIG. 6, when the informationabout the task and the information about the timing of storing the taskin the queue are stored in the timed task store, the CPU 203 specifiespredetermined timing. However, depending on the model of the imageforming apparatus 100, in order to shift from the sleep state to thenormal state, one model needs a longer time whereas the other modelneeds a shorter time. Furthermore, the time taken for the image formingapparatus 100 to shift from the normal state to the sleep state may varydepending on the model. Therefore, by taking the above situation intoconsideration, the CPU 203 may control the specified timing depending onthe model. Further, as for the image forming apparatus 100 that quicklyshifts from the sleep state to the normal state, the CPU 203 may simplywait without storing the information about the task and the informationabout the timing of storing the task in the queue in the timed taskstore. For example, the information in which “identificationinformation” for a plurality of the image forming apparatuses 100 isassociated with a “recovery time” for each of the image formingapparatuses 100 to recover from the sleep state to the normal state isset in the memory 204. In addition, for example, information whichdefines a “threshold value” to determine whether the recovery time fromthe sleep state to the normal state is fast (for example, a time lessthan one second) is stored in the memory 204. When the management-targetimage forming apparatus 100 is in a power saving state, the CPU 203compares the “recovery time” corresponding to the identificationinformation of the image forming apparatus 100 with the “threshold value(less than 1 second)”, both of which are stored in the memory 204.Further, when the “recovery time” is longer than the “threshold value”,the CPU 203 stores the information about the task and the informationabout the timing of storing the task in the queue in the timed taskstore, while the CPU 203 waits for a response from the image formingapparatus 100 without storing the information thereof when the “recoverytime” is shorter than the “threshold value”. In the present exemplaryembodiment, the “threshold value” is less than one second. However, the“threshold value” is not limited thereto. In addition, a different“threshold value” may be set for each model of the image formingapparatus 100 in the memory 204.

The above-described processing will be described with reference to FIG.10.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in whichthe CPU 203 of the management apparatus 101 according to the presentexemplary embodiment acquires the task from the queue to acquire the joblog from the image forming apparatus 100.

The processing in steps S1001 through S1011 in FIG. 10 is the same asthe processing in steps S601 through S611 in FIG. 6, and thus thedescription thereof will be omitted. In addition, in the same manner asthe first exemplary embodiment, the CPU 203 may execute the processingin steps S1007 through S1009 in parallel by a plurality of threads.

In step S1012, the CPU 203 makes an inquiry to the queue storage timingstore within the storage device 202, which will be described below withreference to FIG. 11, about whether to store the task in the queue.Then, the processing proceeds to step S1013.

The queue storage timing store will be described with reference to FIG.11.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the queue storage timingstore.

The queue storage timing store includes device identificationinformation, information about whether the task needs to be stored inthe timed task store, and time information.

The device identification information may include any information suchas an IP address, a device ID, or a device model which can uniquelyidentify the image forming apparatus 100. Further, the CPU 203 managesthe information about whether the task needs to be stored in the timedtask store by associating that information with the image formingapparatus 100. In addition, the CPU 203 performs management byassociating the image forming apparatus 100 corresponding to the taskthat needs to be stored in the timed task store, with a time from whenthe task is acquired from the timed task store until the task is storedin the queue. Furthermore, the CPU 203 performs management byassociating the image forming apparatus 100 corresponding to the taskthat does not need to be stored in the timed task store, with a stand-bytime.

In step S1013, based on a processing result in the step S1012, the CPU203 determines whether the image forming apparatus 100 is a modelcorresponding to the task that needs to be stored in the timed taskstore. If the CPU 203 determines that the image forming apparatus 100 isa model corresponding to the task that does not need to be stored in thetimed task store (NO in step S1013), the processing proceeds to stepS1014.

In step S1014, the CPU 203 waits for the time specified by the queuestorage timing store. Then, the processing proceeds to step S1007.

On the other hand, in step S1013, if the CPU 203 determines that theimage forming apparatus 100 is a model corresponding to the task thatneeds to be stored in the timed task store (YES in step S1013), theprocessing proceeds to step S1015.

In step S1015, the CPU 203 turns “ON” the wake-up notification flag ofthe image forming apparatus 100. Then, the processing proceeds to stepS1016.

In step S1016, the CPU 203 stores the time specified by the queuestorage timing store and the task in the timed task store, and theprocessing proceeds to step S1001. In addition, the above-describedprocessing executed by the CPU 203 of removing the task from the queuetemporarily and storing the removed task in the timed task store is anexample of the second management processing.

With reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 12, timed taskprocessing executed by the CPU 203 of the management apparatus 101according to the present exemplary embodiment will be described.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in whichthe CPU 203 of the management apparatus 101 according to the presentexemplary embodiment acquires the task stored in the timed task storeand stores (returns) the task in the queue.

In step S1201, the CPU 203 determines whether the task timed to bestored in the queue is stored in the timed task store. If the CPU 203determines that the task timed to be stored in the queue is storedtherein (YES in step S1201), the processing proceeds to step S1202.

In step S1202, the CPU 203 acquires the task from the timed task store.Then, the processing proceeds to step S1203.

In step S1203, the CPU 203 stores the task acquired from the timed taskstore in the queue, and the processing proceeds to step S1201. At thistime, the CPU 203 stores the task acquired from the timed task store soas to cause the acquired task to be placed at the end of the order ofthe tasks and the processing order thereof stored in the queue.

On the other hand, in step S1201, if the CPU 203 determines that thetask timed to be stored in the queue is not stored in the timed taskstore (NO in step S1201), the CPU 203 executes the processing in stepS1201 again.

As described above, when the CPU 203 acquires information from the imageforming apparatus 100 being in a “sleep” state, the CPU 203 canefficiently perform the processing by eliminating the stand-by time atwhich the image forming apparatus 100 shifts from the sleep state to thenormal state.

In the above-described first exemplary embodiment, when the CPU 203stores the task acquired from the timed task store in the queue, the CPU203 simply stores the task without controlling the order thereof.However, the CPU 203 may control the order of the task.

Hereinafter, the present exemplary embodiment will be described withreference to FIG. 13.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in whichthe CPU 203 of the management apparatus 101 according to the presentexemplary embodiment acquires the task stored in the timed task storeand stores the task in the queue.

In step S1301, the CPU 203 determines whether the task timed to bestored in the queue is stored in the timed task store. If the CPU 203determines that the task timed to be stored in the queue is storedtherein (YES in step S1301), the processing proceeds to step S1302.

In step S1302, the CPU 203 acquires the task from the timed task store.Then, the processing proceeds to step S1303.

In step S1303, the CPU 203 stores the task acquired from the timed taskstore in the top of the queue. Then, the processing proceeds to stepS1301. In other words, the CPU 203 stores the task acquired from thetimed task store so as to cause the acquired task to be placed at thebeginning of order of the tasks and the processing order thereof storedin the queue.

On the other hand, in step S1301, if the CPU 203 determines that thetask timed to be stored in the queue is not stored in the timed taskstore (NO in step S1301), the CPU 203 executes the processing in stepS1301 again.

Other flows of processing executed by the CPU 203 such as the processingof storing the task in the queue, and the processing of acquiring theinformation such as the job log from the image forming apparatus 100based on the task acquired from the queue are the same as the flows ofprocessing in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6 described in the first exemplaryembodiment.

As described above, when the CPU 203 stores the task acquired from thetimed task store in the queue, the CPU 203 controls the order of thetask to store the acquired task in the top of the queue. With thisoperation, the stand-by time in the queue can be eliminated, and thusthe processing can be executed more efficiently.

In the above-described second exemplary embodiment, the CPU 203 realizesthe efficient processing by controlling the order of the task in thequeue. The same effect can be achieved by providing a priority queuedifferent from the queue described in the first and the second exemplaryembodiments. The priority queue is a queue for managing the task so thatthe processing is executed on the image forming apparatus 100 as aprocessing target in a prioritized manner.

The present exemplary embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 14 and FIG. 15.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in whichthe CPU 203 of the management apparatus 101 according to the presentexemplary embodiment acquires the task stored in the timed task storeand stores the task in the queue.

In step S1401, the CPU 203 determines whether the task timed to bestored in the queue is stored in the timed task store. If the CPU 203determines that the task timed to be stored in the queue is storedtherein (YES in step S1401), the processing proceeds to step S1402.

In step S1402, the CPU 203 acquires the task from the timed task store.Then, the processing proceeds to step S1403.

In step S1403, the CPU 203 stores the task acquired from the timed taskstore in the priority queue. Then, the processing proceeds to stepS1401. The above-described processing for storing the task in thepriority queue is an example of priority management processing.

On the other hand, in step S1401, if the CPU 203 determines that thetask timed to be stored in the queue is not stored in the timed taskstore (NO in step S1401), the CPU 203 executes the processing in stepS1401 again.

With reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 15, job logacquisition processing executed by the CPU 203 of the managementapparatus 101 according to the present exemplary embodiment will bedescribed.

The flowchart in FIG. 15 illustrates an example of processing in whichthe CPU 203 of the management apparatus 101 according to the presentexemplary embodiment acquires the task from the queue to acquire the joblog from the image forming apparatus 100.

In step S1501, the CPU 203 determines whether the task is stored in thepriority queue. If the CPU 203 determines that the task is stored in thepriority queue (YES in step S1501), the processing proceeds to stepS1502.

In step S1502, the CPU 203 acquires the task stored in the priorityqueue. Then, the processing proceeds to step S1505.

On the other hand, in step S1501, if the CPU 203 determines that thetask is not stored in the priority queue (NO in step S1501), theprocessing proceeds to step S1503.

In step S1503, the CPU 203 determines whether the task is stored in thequeue. If the CPU 203 determines that the task is stored in the queue(YES in step S1503), the processing proceeds to step S1504.

In step S1504, the CPU 203 acquires the task stored in the queue. Thenthe processing proceeds to step S1505.

The processing in steps S1505 through S1515 executed by the CPU 203 isthe same as the processing in steps S603 through S613, and thus thedescription thereof will be omitted. Furthermore, in the same manner asin the first and the second exemplary embodiments, the CPU 203 mayexecute the processing in steps S1509 through S1511 in parallel by aplurality of threads.

As described above, instead of executing the control processing with asingle queue as described in the second exemplary embodiment, the CPU203 may execute the control processing with a plurality of queues toachieve the same effect as in the second exemplary embodiment to realizethe efficient processing.

According to the processing of the above-described exemplaryembodiments, when information is acquired from the image formingapparatus 100 being in the “sleep” state, the stand-by time for shiftingfrom the sleep state to the normal state can be eliminated, so thatefficient processing with respect to the image forming apparatus 100 canbe realized.

Additional embodiments can also be realized by a computer of a system orapparatus that reads out and executes computer executable instructionsrecorded on a storage medium (e.g., computer-readable storage medium) toperform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the systemor apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computerexecutable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functionsof one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). The computer maycomprise one or more of a central processing unit (CPU), microprocessing unit (MPU), or other circuitry, and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate computer processors. The computerexecutable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example,from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include,for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), aread only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, anoptical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD),or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card, and thelike.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and function.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2012-174254 filed Aug. 6, 2012, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus comprising: amemory; and a processor in communication with the memory, the processorconfigured to control: a first management unit configured to manageidentification information of a plurality of image forming apparatusesas management targets and an order of processing on the plurality ofimage forming apparatuses; a request unit configured to request,according to the order managed by the first management unit, deviceinformation from an image forming apparatus having identificationinformation corresponding to the order; a removing unit configured toremove, in a case where a power state of the image forming apparatus isa power saving state when the request unit requests the deviceinformation from the image forming apparatus, the identificationinformation of the image forming apparatus from a management target bythe first management unit so as to prevent the request unit fromrequesting the device information; and a second management unitconfigured to manage the removed identification information of the imageforming apparatus together with timing information for specifying timingfor returning the removed identification information as the managementtarget by the first management unit.
 2. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein, according to the order managedby the first management unit, the request unit executes processing forrequesting device information from an image forming apparatus havingidentification information corresponding to the order in parallelprocessing.
 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim2, wherein the request unit determines a number of pieces of theparallel processing based on a specification of the informationprocessing apparatus.
 4. The information processing apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the second management unit manages a time preset asthe timing information.
 5. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the second management unit manages a timeaccording to a model of the image forming apparatus as the timinginformation.
 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim1, wherein the processor is further configured to control: a stand-byunit configured to stand by until the image forming apparatus respondsto a request made by the request unit in a case where the power state ofthe image forming apparatus is the power saving state, and a time ofreturning from the power saving state to a normal state is shorter thana predetermined time; wherein, in a case where the power state of theimage forming apparatus is the power saving state and the time ofreturning from the power saving state to the normal state is longer thanthe predetermined time, the removing unit removes the identificationinformation of the image forming apparatus from the management target bythe first management unit, and the second management unit manages thetiming information.
 7. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to control: acontrol unit configured to, in a case where the removed identificationinformation of the image forming apparatus corresponding to the timinginformation is returned to the management target by the first managementunit based on the timing information managed by the second managementunit, execute control for returning the identification information to anend of the order managed by the first management unit.
 8. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further configured to control: a control unit configuredto, in a case where the removed identification information of the imageforming apparatus corresponding to the timing information is returned tothe management target by the first management unit based on the timinginformation managed by the second management unit, execute control forreturning the removed identification information to a beginning of theorder managed by the first management unit.
 9. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor isfurther configured to control: a priority management unit configured tomanage the identification information of the image forming apparatus asa processing target by the request unit in priority to a managementtarget of the first management unit; and a control unit configured tocontrol the identification information of the image forming apparatuscorresponding to the timing information to be a management target by thepriority management unit based on the timing information managed by thesecond management unit.
 10. A method for an image forming apparatus, themethod comprising: storing and managing, in a management region,identification information of a plurality of image forming apparatusesas management targets and an order of processing on the plurality ofimage forming apparatuses while associating the identificationinformation with the order; requesting device information, according tothe order managed in the management region, from an image formingapparatus having identification information corresponding to the order;removing, in a case where a power state of the image forming apparatusis a power saving state when the device information from the imageforming apparatus is requested, the identification information of theimage forming apparatus from the management region so as to prevent thedevice information from being requested; and managing timing informationfor specifying timing for returning the removed identificationinformation of the image forming apparatus to the management region. 11.A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program thatcauses a computer to execute a method for an information processingapparatus, the method comprising: storing and managing, in a managementregion, identification information of a plurality of image formingapparatuses as management targets and an order of processing on theplurality of image forming apparatuses while associating theidentification information with the order; requesting deviceinformation, according to the order managed in the management region,from an image forming apparatus having identification informationcorresponding to the order; removing, in a case where a power state ofthe image forming apparatus is a power saving state when the deviceinformation from the image forming apparatus is requested, theidentification information of the image forming apparatus from themanagement region so as to prevent the device information from beingrequested; and managing timing information for specifying timing forreturning the removed identification information of the image formingapparatus to the management region.